Putting things in order. Inventories and materiality of the Roman Inquisition

The opening of the ACDF has facilitated new research perspectives aimed at a more comprehensive understanding of the history of the ecclesiastical court. This article examines one of the most recent approaches to the study of the documents of the Holy Office, that of material history. Through the analysis of the inventories drawn up by the territorial offices of the Inquisition and sent to Rome, it is possible to reconstruct the environment in which the inquisitors and their deputies operated, describing the objects present (from books to paintings, fabrics to utensils), their use and their significance in the culture of the time. In this way it is possible to return the “terrible” Tribunal to its historical materiality, to avoid over-interpretations and errors of perspective. The information from the catalogues is supplemented with data from the correspondence and accounts of the various tribunals, showing that these funds are a valuable testimony of historical knowledge and not a mere descriptive erudition, as they have sometimes been considered.